RENO – Jaime Escalante, one of California’s most renowned teachers, has died in Reno, Nevada where he was being treated for bladder cancer.

Escalante moved to the U.S. from his native Bolivia and began teaching at Garfield High School in East Los Angeles. He taught calculus and motivated his struggling students to advance placement studies.

Many political leaders including then-president Ronald Reagan visited his classes.

Escalante described the 1988 movie “Stand and Deliver” as “90% truth and 10% drama”.

And, about his passion for teaching, “As a teacher, what I do is convey passion with semantics. I innovate my teaching constantly. I do not make comments. I discover them. That’s what my assignment is.”

Jaime Escalante was 79.

Story Date: April 3, 2010